


I dare you!

by thepilot



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Bodhi gets dared to fix a KX, Drinking, Family, Friendship, Gen, Imperial Academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 15:55:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14957621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepilot/pseuds/thepilot
Summary: Bodhi and his friends stay up one night and happen upon a KX droid. Loosely based on the novelization. "They weren’t his friends. ...or helped him reassemble his astromech after he’d stupidly taken the droid apart on a dare."





	I dare you!

Bodhi was tossing and turning, careful not to wake his roommate, Rafi. They'd been roomies for over a year, the two becoming like brothers to one another. They were both recruits from Jedha, often speaking to each other late at night about things they missed from home.

Rafi’s big blue eyes lit up when they talked about his favorite Jedhan topic: food. And Bodhi always loved talking about shopping in the market. It was unspoken that they often longed for the days of their early childhood youth: before the occupation.

Bodhi switched sides again for what was probably the tenth time that hour. He seemed to be finally getting comfortable when he heard a knock on the door.

“Was that you?” Rafi asked in a tired voice, his mop of dark hair swirling and falling in his eyes without his uniform cap to keep it in place. Bodhi sat up, shaking his head.

“Wasn't me.”

There was a knock in rhythm, and Bodhi and Rafi grinned at one another. It was their room code. Their code for “get up, we’ve got booze.”

Rafi climbed down, playfully shoving and pushing Bodhi out of the way as they made it to the door. They slammed the button down together and the door slid open to reveal Bodhi's other best friend, Kayda and some five other classmates.

“Lookey what we've got, boys!” Kayda exclaimed. Bodhi and Rafi grinned at one another before stepping back to allow everyone in their room.

The young starfleet cadets played a round of sabacc, of which, Bodhi of course won. Laughing and chatting, feeling buzzed, and on their second bottle of rum, they decided to take a walk around the base. They were careful to creep by the rooms of other’s that were sleeping, and careful to avoid the cameras they knew actually functioned.

Turning a corner, they noticed a giant hulk of gleaming metal tucked away in an alcove.

“Hey...what's that KX doing?” one of his classmates asked. Wylen? Was that his name? Bodhi couldn't remember. As a group, they all came upon the KX droid, clearly malfunctioning and turned off.

“I've never seen one sit before!” Kayda exclaimed.

“Me either…” Bodhi mumbled. He hoped there wasn't something wrong with the droid, but this was certainly peculiar behavior.

“Rook! Go see what's wrong with it!” his roommate exclaimed.

Bodhi shook his head. “It needs a full reboot, at best.”

He felt a few shoves, pushing him towards the downed KX.

“Dare you to touch it!”

“Bet you could fix it!”

“Take it apart and put it back together!”

“If anyone could do it, its you!”

Bodhi grinned. He could. He could right this KX, he knew he could.

“For how much?” Bodhi asked with a sly grin.

“I'll chip in a few credits!”

“I’ll chip in five!”

“I'm in!”

“I'll bet ten credits!”

Bodhi stumbled over to the KX model and examined it. “Help me take it to our room. I need my tools.”

Everyone knew Bodhi was a mechanics junkie. He read everything he could get his hands on, and whenever something electrical needed fixing, they knew they could count on Bodhi.

For several years, he’d acquired an extensive collection of tools: whenever he'd see something left out, he'd nicked it and hid it in his room. With room checks, he'd taken to hiding them in his mattress. He was thankful for a loving roommate that didn't mind hearing the clank and clang of metal as Bodhi got into bed.

The group hoisted the KX up, the task taking longer than it should've with the buzz of alcohol. They managed to get the KX into the small cadet room, and set it down to sit on Bodhi's bottom bunk. Bodhi immediately started rifling through the hole in his mattress, pulling out several tools.

Over the course of an hour, and several more sips of rum, Bodhi took apart the KX enough to diagnose it, then started to set everything right again. Everyone was happily chatting as Bodhi worked, and Bodhi was happy to be surrounded by all of his friends. His family.

Suddenly, as Bodhi was popping in the last wires, it sprung to life. Everyone gasped as it sat up on Bodhi’s bunk. Glowing eyes scanned the room.

“This is KX model K-2SO, and I would like to know why I am no longer at my assigned station.”

The room fell silent. They could all get kicked out of the academy for moving the droid. And the droid could tell on them.

“You were...um...you were malfunctioning,” Bodhi said softly, getting off the bed and standing in front of the droid.

The KX fixed Bodhi with what could only be described as an incriminating look. “That is impossible. I am capable of running my own diagnostics. It would be impossible for me to malfunction.”

Bodhi frowned at K-2SO. Nervous, but also sure of himself. Maybe it was the rum. “You were...something happened. You were sitting down.”

“That is impossible.”

The other students looked at Bodhi as he faced off with the KX. “I promise, you were. We all found you. I...I fixed you.”

The KX looked at everyone, then turned back to Bodhi.

“If that is true, then it seems you have restored me with no damage. How is that possible?”

Bodhi blushed and looked down at his hands, tools still clasped in them. “I don't...I don't know. I just...I've read a lot? I like reading about droids. And well...it's not too hard to see when a wire is out of place.”

The KX, K-2SO looked at Bodhi, its occulars dimming then brightening again.

“Why are you all up? You are not in your assigned rooms. And it is past curfew.”

They all shared a look, and it was Bodhi who spoke again.

“We were...we were breaking curfew. We’re allowed to drink. It says so in our manuals,” Bodhi said with a huff. “We’re just not supposed to be up past our curfew. But if we hadn't been up, we wouldn't have found you!”

K-2SO stood to his full height, his figuring stooping to avoid hitting the ceiling.

“I will not be reporting this. But I will seek further action if you do not return to your respective rooms, affective immediately.”

Bodhi and the others nodded. “Yes sir. Well...this is my room but everyone will leave now. Thank you, sir.”

The others got up, all but running from the room.

“Thank you, cadet. The Empire thanks you for your service.” Bodhi nodded at K-2SO, who followed behind everyone as they left.

“Goodbye, Bodhi! Thanks!”

“Goodbye Rafi!”

As the door slid shut, Rafi and Bodhi grinned at one another.

“You saved our asses, Bo!” Rafi said with a grin as they both climbed back in bed. Bodhi tucked his tools back in his mattress, smiling up at Rafi as he got back up on the top bunk.

“Just remember you all owe me credits,” Bodhi said with a smirk.

Rafi chuckled. “We owe you more than what we bet you!”

Bodhi poked the bunk above his head. “We’re family, Rafi. We've got each other’s backs.”

Rafi leaned over the top and grinned down at Bodhi. “Family.”


End file.
